One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Lohan's Lawyer's Letter to City Attorneys: Let's Work Together to 'Fix' Lindsay
Mark Heller and Lindsay Lohan in court, January 30, 2013 (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
Lindsay Lohan's new lawyer, Mark Heller, is pretty ballsy. The last time we saw him in court was when he affirmed he would be Lohan's new representation, and the New Yorker made time to work in some attempts at kissing up to no-nonsense Judge Stephanie Sautner. (It didn't work.) Now an audacious letter Heller sent to two local City Attorney's offices reveals he's appealed to prosecutors they circumvent the traditional punitive route so they can work as a team to "fix" Lohan.
Heller attached the letter he sent to Terry White at the Santa Monica City Attorney's office and Spencer Hart at the Los Angeles City Attorney's office to filed court documents, reports TMZ. The gossip site also has the full letter available by .pdf download.
In the letter, Heller explains he has known Lohan for a long time, and understands the family and personal struggles she has endured. In a very elaborately constructed sentence, Heller says that the public doesn't know the full story, and the media distorts what they glean about Lohan's private life. This leaves people to know only this "negative public persona" of Lohan, and not take into account the "pain, torment, and confusion" that the star has experienced.
The goal of the letter is to suggest to the prosecutors that the usual punishments aren't going to work, and that there could be another way. Heller writes:
I appeal to your good conscience to join me in not rubber stamping this case but rather to be patient and understanding and open to productive alternatives, as we, as a team, help "fix" Lindsay Lohan.
Oh, yes he did.
Heller is asking the court put the case on "the slow track" so that Lohan can get busy doing stuff most people in the legal system don't get to do to help their case, like create a youth foundation and appear in public service announcements, as well as undergo intense therapy. If the court basically stalls the case, it would help Lohan become the "proud, productive and positive contributor in her life, to her family, society, and to her industry."
Sponsored message
Judge Sautner is cc'd on the letter, and, according to TMZ, "the letter pissed the judge off because it looks like an attempt to improperly influence the court."
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
